Palm Trees
by Neogami
Summary: It's been six long years since he left her behind in Townsville. Now grown up, Buttercup has moved to sunny Florida in search of a life she can call her own, when she runs into a familiar face. Ace/Buttercup. Rated M for later chapters.


Disclaimer: I do not own PPG or any of its characters.

_'God, this is beautiful.'_ The dark-haired young woman thought, staring off into the orange and pink horizon. The smell of saltwater, the sound of the ocean crashing into the rocks, the tapping of her feet against the wood she walked on and the tickle of the gentle breeze which caused goosebumps to form on her skin; it was just what she needed after a stressful day of job hunting.

It hadn't been very long since Buttercup first moved to Tampa with her friend Moira. Fortunately, Moira's parents were loaded, so they got a place by the boardwalk. _Un_fortunately, the place happened to be a shitty one-bedroom apartment with a bitchy property manager who ignored phone calls and didn't do anything about the roaches. Not exactly worth the $500 a month, but the two of them made the best of it and kept everything moderately clean. Besides, who cared about roaches when you could walk out your front door and see the ocean?

Buttercup stopped and leaned her back on the railing, stretching her neck so she saw the ocean as the sky and the sky underneath it.

"Maaannn…I need a smoke." She thought aloud as she watched the waves crash onto the rocks and the sky gradually get darker. A cigarette, held by a green hand popped up in front of the rocks and sky and began swaying back and forth. She jerked her head and torso up into her regular standing position only to be face-to-face with one of her former enemies.

"Ya like Marlboro, kid?" Ace asked with a sideways grin. He had positioned himself directly in front of her, one hand on the railing, another holding a cigarette in front of her face and their bodies were about half a foot from each other. The young woman wondered how she hadn't even heard him walking towards her.

"Hell yeah. Thanks, man." Buttercup grabbed the cig and sidestepped away from him, smirking. Ace just popped a cancer stick in his mouth and flipped his black hair out of his eyes which, oddly enough, didn't have his signature sunglasses covering them.

_'Same old Ace,'_ She thought, _'Probably still stealing cash from old ladies and shoplifting spray paint.'_

"Still as feisty as ever, I see." Pulling a small red lighter from his pocket and flaring it up, he held it towards Buttercup who, in turn, placed the cigarette in her mouth and leaned towards the flame, letting the end catch fire. As she breathed in the sweet smoke, Ace lit up his own cigarette and leaned his back against the railing next to Buttercup. Above them a streetlight flickered on, helping them see each other against the slowly darkening sky. The two of them sat there in silence for awhile, watching the light from the sun on the houses turn orange, then pink. It was Ace who broke the silence.

"So, what's my favorite Powerpuff girl been up to these past…" He paused to count on his fingers, "…six years, if I'm not mistaken?"

"Six years? Yeah, I guess it's been that long." The dark-haired young woman's eyes glazed over as memories began to fill her mind, "It's been...different. Not nearly as many petty crimes as there were before you left." The green man scratched at the light stubble on his chin, letting out a small chuckle in reply to Buttercup's comment, "You really were their ringleader, weren't you?" Ace cocked his head in her direction, his dark green eyes catching hold of her bright ones just before he swivelled around and leaned his arms against the railing so he could watch the sky and ocean as it darkened. He muttered in reply,

"I was." The corners of Buttercup's mouth twitched into a smile when he turned his face towards hers, a few strands of his dark hair falling into his face messily and his eyes once again catching hold of her own, "I hope you know I changed after all the times you and your sisters threw me in the slammer." She laughed, replying with,

"I should hope so. How many boyfriends have you _had_, anyways?"

"_Woah_, now." Ace's thick eyebrows shot up on his forehead and, laughing along with her, "You really _have_ grown up." He breathed in one last sweet breath of nicotine, then flicked the cigarette butt into the ocean, "How was high school? Did that kid with the glasses, who ate glue..."

"Elmer?"

"Yeah, that's the one. He didn't ever come to school with a shotgun or anything, did he?" The green man snorted at his own joke. Buttercup narrowed her eyes at him,

"I got a scar from when he came at me with a knife." Ace's eyes widened in horror, but his expression softened as soon as she busted out laughing.

"Good to see ya still gotcha sense of humor. What brings you to sunny Florida?" He asked, "Finally get tired of Townsville and that bossy redhead of a sister?" She smiled at the mention of Blossom,

"Well, it's nice to see someone doesn't think she's perfect." Moving some strands of hair from his face, Buttercup muttered 'OCD' and continued, "I _was_ going to art school, but I kinda dropped out. Bubbles is going to the one art school in Townsville so I tried coming out here. Not exactly my cup of tea, though, college. Right now I'm looking for a job. Why'd _you_ come out here?" The green man nodded and said,

"I wanted to get as far away from Townsville and the gang as possible. I realized I was wasting my life there and the only way to make something of myself was to leave everything behind and start over." He clicked his tongue and smirked, "I only chose Florida because I hear the beaches are hot and so are the women." The two shared a chuckle and Buttercup rolled her eyes,

"You haven't changed _much_." Twisting her body around, the young woman leaned her arms onto the railing to face the sunset, "So you've started all over. How's that going for you?"

"Pretty good. Me and the band got a gig at a new place not too far from here." He paused, "You should come see us. It's this Friday night, around 7 PM at The Monochrome." Raising her eyes to his, obviously interested, Buttercup replied,

"I'll check my schedule." Who was she kidding? She didn't even have a job, her 'schedule' was wide open. Ace noticed the dark sky and took a quick look at his watch, suddenly standing up straight,

"It's gettin' late. Want me to walk you home?" The young woman cocked her head in his direction.

"I spent most of my childhood beating up criminals. I think I'll be alright." Buttercup threw her cigarette butt into the ocean and looked up at him slowly, "I...uh..appreciate the offer, though." Ace shifted his shoulders at her sudden manners. One of his former enemies was telling him she appreciated something he said; it was just hitting him the amount of change that had gone on in six years. His eyes trailed down her body, which, he couldn't help but notice, had also changed. For one thing, Buttercup had grown tits. Nice ones. Her ass was pretty fine, too.

"Hey! Eyes _up here_." Buttercup furrowed her eyebrows and crossed her arms over her chest in retaliation to Ace's lusty stares. However, she couldn't help but chuckle when he flashed her a sheepish smile; Ace, apparently, just remembered who he was checking out. Clearing his throat, the green man pulled a piece of paper and pen out of his jacket pocket.

"It's been great seeing ya, kid." He finished writing and held out the paper, which the ex-powerpuff gently took from him and examined, "If you ever wanna hang out or just talk..." His voice trailed off. Buttercup stared at the number for a moment, then slowly looked up at him,

"I'll call you." Clearing his throat,

"Alright, then. I hope I see ya friday night." With that, Ace turned on his heel and began to walk away from her. As he got further away, Buttercup felt her chest swell with excitement.

_'Damn! I Should've asked him the name of his band or what genre they were...oh well.'_

He was right, though; She did need to get home. Still holding his number, the green-eyed young woman turned around and started back to her crappy, grungy apartment.

For some reason, the streets of Tampa suddenly felt more like home than Townsville ever did.


End file.
